Praxis: Ah, I love the smell of butyric acid in the morning. It smells like - victory. Memories of Chemistry Lab and high school guerrilla warfare.

River Valley High School is a public high school in Caledonia, Ohio. It is the only high school in the River Valley Schools district. In the fall of 2003, a new campus was opened for students due to the possibility of cancer-causing chemicals on the old campus. . .

Infamous graduates

Michael Brian Vanderboegh, Class of 1970. Ex-communist, Second Amendment activist, militia leader, ATF gadfly and Christian libertarian rabble rouser who urged "modern day Sons of Liberty" to break local Democrat party headquarters in March, 2010 in reaction to the imminent passage of the Obamacare Law. Founder of the "Three Percenters," a group of militant firearm owners denounced by Bill Clinton in a speech at the Center for American Progress, 19 April 2010. "I cherish my time at River Valley, especially that spent in Conrad J. Floridia's chemistry class, where as a chem lab assistant I learned everything I needed to know about improvised explosives and butyric acid stink bombs." -- Wikipedia.

My old alma mater, River Valley High School, at its best perspective, viewed from a distance. Built on the site of a World War II POW camp and later, military depot trash pile.

I received an email from an Irregular who, for obvious reasons, shall remain nameless. He suggests that the Purple SEIU Thugbus would benefit from the application of a very mild acid called Butyric acid.

As it happens, when I was a young pup back in Marion, Ohio and, having reached a certain age of sly intelligence matched with immaturity and a bit of recklessness, I volunteered to be one of chemistry teacher Conrad J. Floridia's chem lab assistants, with results that are recalled by certain retired teachers and administrators to this day with flashbacks of post-traumatic stress.

From considerable experience I can say that butyric acid is very mild, but packs a wallop upon the olfactories with an odor combining the smell of a cocktail of rancid butter and vomit that has been left in a tightly-closed glass container to cook in the hot sun for three days. By scientific experiment, we high school guerrillas discovered that the only thing worse than butyric acid was burning egg albumin. Now the memory of THAT gives even me the shudders.

Anyway, if you are unfamiliar with the stuff, here is a brief description. I will only say that the laws regarding its tactical application have changed greatly since I was a sprout and I rather suspect that anyone caught squirting this stuff with a large gauge needle on the end of a syringe poked through the rubber window molding of a locked bus (yes, I do have a certain experience along these lines having once done a parking lot of new cars in this manner -- long story) would probably find themselves under arrest as a WMD terrorist. But I must confess the idea of hitting a Thugbus with BA does have a certain karmic charm.

An interesting item to add to 'enhance' the interior (think fabric) of a purple tour bus... guaranteed to gag a maggot... small quantity, less than 1/4 cup... known to cause widespread nausea...

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-butyric-acid.htm

Butyric acid is prepared on a large scale by the fermentation of starch or sugar. Fermentation uses microorganisms and takes place under conditions where there is no oxygen. It is the transformation of the glucose in these compounds to alcohol or butyric acid, in this case. The microbes gain energy from this process. Less energy is produced than if the compounds were transformed in the presence of oxygen.

Various species of bacteria produce butyric acid as a product of fermentation. They live in places where there is no oxygen, such as the rumen of cows and goats. This is a special digestive organ for degrading plant compounds that are extremely difficult to digest. Bacteria generate butyrate from the plant fibers consumed. Butyrate is also produced as a side product in marine sediments.

Bacteria that live in the human colon transform various fibers such as oat bran to a series of compounds, including butyric acid. This contributes to the foul smell of flatulence. People who consume a low carbohydrate diet have lower amounts of butyric acid in their colon. Some researchers think that butanoate protects against colon cancer; however, the evidence is mixed.

Butyric acid is a component of vomit. Its unpleasant smell has made it a useful stink bomb for non-lethal political attacks. It has been used to attack whaling boats and taint the whale meat, so that it cannot be consumed. It has also been used in a large number of attacks on abortion clinics.

Discretion in purchasing is recommended. Skunk-scent is probably as effective, less expensive, available where deer hunting scents are sold. Either can be safely carried and discharged from a (medium to large, hand concealable) hypodermic syringe, without the needle, easily available at a veterinary supply. Discreetly applied to a hostile crowd's clothing is also effective.